Kevin Whelan on Rehearsing in a Meat Locker and Playing the Maple Leaf Rag

Photo credit: Ebru Yildiz

Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?

Wow, what a great question. When the Wrens were touring the USA, we had a 1980 conversion van. Our drummer’s dad, Richie MacDonald, made make loft out of plywood to store our equipment. This thing drove the entire county like 4 times. We broke down ALL the time – Didn’t have enough money for gas but somehow, made it around the country.

How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?

When we toured, we never ate healthy. Or at least I never did. It was always fast food or truck stop gas station meals. But you also find the best out-of-the-way places to eat that never make it on a tourist map.

How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?

I play bass so it’s pretty lucky on the string breaking. However, you have to change all the time after the sweat and back in the days, all the cigarette smoke.

Where do you rehearse?

We used to rehearse in converted meat lockers in Montclair NJ. Dark, damp, bizarre – Every electrical outlet gave you a shock like a dim electric chair.

What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?

The title was “after the fire” and the lyrics are so awful that after all these years and therapy I can no longer recall them.

Describe your first gig.

I played piano at an ice cream parlor. I played the “Maple Leaf Rag” by Scott Joplin – No one could hear me and I played more wrong notes than right.

What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?

I work at JNJ Consumer with some of the best scientists on the planet. They are real rock stars. I love my current job.

How has your music-related income changed over the past 5-10 years? What do you expect it to look like 5-10 years from now?

Music related income? It does not exist. It never really did. I’ve literally given my life to one band – over 30 years – and it was the memories and experiences… and the music.

What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?

I wish I was more open – I thought I knew what I was doing, I did not. If you do music, do music. All the time, anywhere you can. I was far too precious and fearful.

Aeon Station’s Observatory is an epic statement more than a decade in the making, with miles of timeless melodies and the kind of overpowering songwriting that will reaffirm your belief in life itself. Longtime Wrens member Kevin Whelan’s first solo album draws heavily from the perseverance of the soul, resulting in rock music possessing an infectious and inspiring sonic uplift. If you’re familiar with Whelan’s past work, these ten tracks bear a certain and unmistakable familiarity—but they also mark an exciting new chapter in Whelan’s musical career, as he steps out with more vulnerability than ever before.

Observatory came together carefully for Whelan—over the course of 14 years, specifically, as clusters of demos and sketches were eventually assembled and recorded largely by Whelan himself, with assistance from Wrens’ bandmate Jerry MacDonald and Greg Whelan as well as Tom Beaujour in his Union City recording space. Additionally, his wife Mary Ann provided backup vocals.

Connect with Whelan and Aeon Station online.